As I celebrate living on this
planet another year and life's odometer ticks over another digit, it is
good to glance in the rearview mirror to see where I've been and maybe
look out the windshield to see what is ahead.
For one thing, I have been
blessed to share the road with an amazing woman for 47 years. Together
we have seen a lot of places, met a lot of wonderful people, and heard
some really cool music. I have read hundreds of books and have written a
handful as well. I have also written a few half-way decent songs.
I have spent my life making
photographs and have tens of thousands of them in my files, which mean
several hundred of them are pretty good.
I now realize that I have
clothes in my closet older than some of my friends. I remember when
gasoline was a quarter a gallon, but two hours of work still would
barely get you a hundred miles down the road. But what matters is that I
have worked hard and traveled a lot of miles. The people I have met
along the way have made life worth living.
For the majority of my life I
have been a follower of Jesus. I take His life and teaching seriously -
love God, love one another, seek joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, gentleness and self-control.
I now know that there are more
miles in the rearview mirror than through the windshield. The Bible
doesn't say anything about retiring, but it does say for the older
people to teach the younger. As we get a few miles on us, teaching what
we have learned to those behind us becomes our most important job.
The road ahead looks bright.
Storms, roadblocks and detours are sure to come, but we press on toward
the final destination. I hope to see you there.
